1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 - Rust Repair - Hang Time

Installing a new fender and cowl hood, then getting it all lined up.

We can all probably agree that rust is one of those things no gear head wants bubbling up from under the paint. Unless you are one of those who wants a rusty patina, that reddish brown crud is something that needs to be eradicated from the car. Sometimes repairing rust is an involved process requiring cutting, welding, and bodywork to complete, much like the quarter-panel replacement story in this very issue. Then there are situations where all you need to do is unbolt the rusty component and replace it with a brand spankin' new piece. Such is the case for this story. We are going to show you the steps it takes to swap out the front fender and hood on a second-gen F-body, then get it all lined up again.

The passenger's side fender on our '70 Z28 was completely gone at the bottom, which is reason enough to swap it out, but once we got it off the car we found the fender was smashed at one point and repaired with way too much filler. The hood just had a layer of surface rust, which in itself is not reason to trash it, but some racer decided the car needed hood pins and cut them in, so we have two really large holes that would not be easy to fill. Also, the second-gen Camaro's hood is a large, flat piece of steel, and we wanted to give it more style and engine clearance by installing a cowl hood.

The fender and cowl hood both came from Auto Metal Direct. The fender is a replacement piece that has all the right holes in all the right places (expect for the emblems). The hood features a 2-inch rise that gives us about that much more clearance to the air cleaner, but the style it adds to the Z28 is why we are going with it instead of a dull, factory-type flat unit. The following images will map out how to swap out the fender and hood, then how to get the bodylines trued back up.

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